The Incredible String Band - "U" (Elektra 1970) 24-bit/96kHz Vinyl Rip

Even by the Incredible String Band's own standards, U was an eclectic enterprise. The outfit once described by their producer Joe Boyd (in a 1997 piece in The Guardian) as "the first world music group" had already been weaving folk, rock, blues, mysticism, and the sounds and instruments of several continents into a unique mosaic for four years and half a dozen albums before U appeared in 1970. U was not just more of the same; it was a lot more of the same, the double album filling up nearly two hours of music. The two-LP set boasted a pretty staggering diversity, from an Indian sitar-paced instrumental and whimsical psychedelic folk minstrelsy to American nineteenth century saloon raunch and tunes that skirted confessional singer-song writing, old-time country-folk, barrelhouse blues, and straight-out rock'n'roll.
The wide-ranging breadth (and length) of U was a direct consequence of the equally ambitious stage show in which the songs were featured. Described at the time (in Melody Maker) by Robin Williamson as a "surreal parable in song and dance," it was neither a pageant, a play, dance, theatre, nor pantomime, though there were elements of all of those. The four core Incredible String musicians of the time – Williamson, Mike Heron, Rose Simpson, and Licorice McKechnie – were augmented by Stone Monkey, who themselves were a hard-to-define performance group. Richie Unterberger

Track listing:

01. El Wool Suite (Heron)
02. The Juggler’s Song (Williamson)
03. Time (Williamson)
04. Bad Sadie Lee (Shankman)
05. Queen of Love (Williamson)
06. Partial Belated Overture (Heron)
07. Light In Time of Darkness/Glad To See You (Heron)
08. Walking Along With You (Heron)
09. Hirem Pawnitof (Heron)/Fairies Hornpipe (Trad.)
10. Bridge Theme (Heron)
11. Bridge Song (Heron)
12. Astral Plane Theme (Williamson)
13. Invocation (Williamson)
14. Robot Blues (Williamson)
15. Puppet Song (Williamson)
16. Cutting The Strings (Williamson)
17. I Know You (McKechnie)
18. Rainbow (Heron)

Personnel:

Robin Williamson: vocals, guitar, mandolin, bass, gimbri, flute, clay drums,
fiddle, shanai, Jew’s harp, washboard
Mike Heron: vocals, guitar, sitar, piano, mandolin, organ, bass
Rose Simpson: vocals, bass, tabla, guitar
Licorice McKechnie: vocals, guitar, drums, spoons
With:
Peter Grant: banjo on ‘Bad Sadie Lee’
Janet Shankman: vocal on ‘Bad Sadie Lee’, harpsichord on ‘Queen of Love’
Tom Constanten: arrangement on ‘Queen of Love’
Malcolm LeMaistre: vocal on ‘Rainbow’
Produced by Joe Boyd, Witchseason Productions Ltd.
Engineer: John Wood